Three Things to Look Out For: Raiders vs. Chargers

Tomorrow, December 31st, the Los Angeles Chargers will host the Oakland Raiders for the last game of the season

Look for the Oakland Raiders to spoil New Years’ Eve for the Los Angeles Chargers’ playoff hopes with these three keys. Hopefully unlocking the fireworks to victory for the Silver and Black and ending the season with a win.

Ground Attack

There’s no denying Marshawn Lynch has been playing some of his best football with the Raiders as of late. Raider Nation saw some creativity with the play calling in their Week 15 contest versus the Dallas Cowboys which helped Lynch boost the Raiders rushing attack that has broken 100 total yards in the past two weeks. Prior to that, Lynch had scored a touchdown in three consecutive weeks (Week’s 12, 13, and 14).

The Chargers come in dead last in rushing defense so look for Lynch to show us why he’s earned the nickname, “BEAST MODE.”

Pagano Versus the Chargers Offense

After nearly 15 years with the Chargers organization, John Pagano has revitalized a Raiders defense that was struggling in the turnover department. From the moment he was added to the coaching staff, Raider Nation was excited to see what Pagano could offer, and Pagano has not disappointed.

An eye-popping statistic that Raider fans should be happy to see is that in the last five games, according to Evert Geerling of Raider’s public relations, in the last five weeks, Oakland’s defense has recorded 16 sacks which is tied for 5th in the NFL.

In his latest press conference, Pagano said, “I’m excited and we’re going to be ready to go on Sunday.” Although the Chargers are coming in with the fire to keep their playoff hopes alive, Pagano should have some tricks up his sleeve to put out their flame and end the season with a win. Safe to say, the Chargers are an organization and offense he knows very well.

Derek Carr Bounce Back

No doubt about it, Derek Carr has had a tough year. From injuries to a new offensive coordinator, and new personnel. The Oakland offensive has had a tough year, but one thing we do know is Carr and the entire Raiders organization is full of competitors. The team will go out and compete for the fans and for the love of the game and if nothing else, to play spoiler.

The Week 16 matchup versus Philadelphia was tough to watch, but looking at the end of the game, the Raiders were still in it and had the opportunity to fight for the tie or even the win. In a recent press conference, Derek Carr said, “we want to go out there and finish the season with a win.” That last game is behind them, and an effective rushing attack should open up some additional opportunities in the passing game as we saw in Week 6. Look for Carr to come out finishing the season with a preview of what we all know this team is capable of.

Carr better be handing off 35-40 times tomorrow. Looks like he’s only gonna have traffick cones at LT and RT. Tice should call the plays and Odd Owning should be looking at directional universities in Division 4A to execute that zone blocking scheme that has Muskgrave looking like an OC Messiah.